Buy new stove or fix old one?

i would buy a new stove the oven could go out next---it happened to me one thanksgiving day with a turkey in the oven
 

My 2005 electric stove's two of its burners no longer work, the big 8inch ones. My handyman wants $225 to buy 4 new burners (2 8inch and 2 6inch) and the element, including his $75 fee for labor. The 2 8inch burners cost $71 and I was going to buy them, but I read the element MUST be replaced anyway, which I don't want to mess with trying to do myself. A comparable brand new stove will cost me about $500, which includes free shipping and installation and disposal of old stove.

Ordinarily I won't pay more than 1/3 the cost of a new appliance to fix the old one, but on this I am stumped. Would you pay $225 to fix a 13 year old stove that you can buy brand new for $500? And $500 is the cheapest I could find, most of the others are way higher and almost all the others have the smooth top and I would rather have the coils and pretty soon I won't be able to buy the ones with coils (I heard the smooth ones scratch easily and you have to be extremely careful).

Opinions please!

For better or for worse depending on how you look at it, we now live in a disposable society. It will almost always be more economical to buy a new appliance that was most likely made in China with $1 an hour labor than pay $75 an hour for labor to fix your old one here at home.
 
Mr fix it here sez buy a new one
money better spent in the long run @ $500
 

Consumers says that an electric range has a life expectancy of 13 years. I have been replacing overage appliances for the last few years. They are all new and should outlast me.

The last thing I replaced was the electric water heater. They can rust out with age if the glass coating on the inside of the tank cracks. The result is a flood.
 
The reason given to me was the prolonged use of such a high temperature just to clean an oven.

And the complications that arise. For instance the door is locked and after cleaning you can't get it open.Its electronically controlled.

High temperatures are hard on wiring . The temperature used is about 750 degrees.

And make sure you don't have anything inflammable in the pot drawer.

Its handy and it does work but is it worth it?

https://fixappliances.ca/4-reasons-stop-using-self-cleaning-oven-feature/
 
Very interesting. My oven has a neat fast-clean feature. You put a bowl of water inside, set the fast clean and it gets hot enough to create steam for about a half hour- making it easier to wipe off loosened grease.

My stove is about 3 years old and I've never used that feature. I usually wipe up spills as they happen and have used the full-clean cycle twice.
 
Very interesting. My oven has a neat fast-clean feature. You put a bowl of water inside, set the fast clean and it gets hot enough to create steam for about a half hour- making it easier to wipe off loosened grease.

My stove is about 3 years old and I've never used that feature. I usually wipe up spills as they happen and have used the full-clean cycle twice.

A bowl of Ammonia left in the oven overnight loosens the grease.

I never heard of the fast clean feature but it sounds like a winner.
 
A bowl of Ammonia left in the oven overnight loosens the grease.

I never heard of the fast clean feature but it sounds like a winner.

The Ammonia trick works great on grills, pots & pans, casserole dishes, too. Just place the items with baked-on gunk in a plastic bag pour in some ammonia and seal the bag for 24 hours then wash in hot soapy water.
 
Knock wood, my stove is the one that I got new with my house. 25 years ago. It is a GE. It is a gas stove. Granted I rarely use the oven anymore, as I have my convection oven and my hot air cooker. But it has served me well.

PVC, let us know what you decide to do.
 
Knock wood, my stove is the one that I got new with my house. 25 years ago. It is a GE. It is a gas stove. Granted I rarely use the oven anymore, as I have my convection oven and my hot air cooker. But it has served me well.

PVC, let us know what you decide to do.

Marie, still mulling the decision. I've noticed that the older I get (I'm 76), the harder it is to make a decision. I actually agonize over a decision, whereas when I was much younger I used to do it right away. I love my old stove, know how to use it, it came with my newly built house, new stoves cost a lot and now you can't find many with burner coils and most have the glass tops and the self-cleaning ovens (read Camper6's link). I may just decide to kick the can down the road and make a decision when ALL my burners die. I might be in assisted living by then and not need a stove.

Happy Birthday Marie and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone and thanks for holding my hand in this thread, you guys are the BEST!
 
Marie, still mulling the decision. I've noticed that the older I get (I'm 76), the harder it is to make a decision. I actually agonize over a decision, whereas when I was much younger I used to do it right away. I love my old stove, know how to use it, it came with my newly built house, new stoves cost a lot and now you can't find many with burner coils and most have the glass tops and the self-cleaning ovens (read Camper6's link). I may just decide to kick the can down the road and make a decision when ALL my burners die. I might be in assisted living by then and not need a stove.

Happy Birthday Marie and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone and thanks for holding my hand in this thread, you guys are the BEST!

That would be my approach!:playful::eek:nthego:
 
Like DonM and TreeGuy, my husband is a pretty handy fella and can repair most things. Although we did a complete kitchen remodel a couple of years ago, we had the contractor reinstall our 5 year old dishwasher, 30 year-old gas double wall oven (perfect condition and nobody manufactures residential gas double ovens anymore), and 30 year-old gas stovetop (works great except the burners need to be lit with a match or lighter). When and if something goes permanently wrong with one of these appliances we'll replace it. For now, they're just fine.

My husband has replaced the igniter in the oven a few times over the years. A few days ago he fixed my 20 year-old KitchenAid mixer. $50 worth of parts and it's humming like new. He's taught our sons and son-in-law how to fix things, just as his own father taught him. No sense throwing things in the landfill if you can repair them.

All this said, PVC, Don's advice makes a lot of sense. If you can't fix it yourself you're probably better off replacing it for the reasons he mentioned.
 
Well I'm feeling pretty stupid now. I just the gave the lawnmower repair shop the go ahead to service and fix my lawn mower for $205.41 and then I checked Lowes and they have a comparable new one on sale for $246.75. :eek:


OMG! I just remembered. I have a 10% off card for Lowes because I am a veteran. That means I could have gotten a new one for $222.08!

Now I really feel stupid!
 
My 2005 electric stove's two of its burners no longer work, the big 8inch ones. My handyman wants $225 to buy 4 new burners (2 8inch and 2 6inch) and the element, including his $75 fee for labor. The 2 8inch burners cost $71 and I was going to buy them, but I read the element MUST be replaced anyway, which I don't want to mess with trying to do myself. A comparable brand new stove will cost me about $500, which includes free shipping and installation and disposal of old stove.

Ordinarily I won't pay more than 1/3 the cost of a new appliance to fix the old one, but on this I am stumped. Would you pay $225 to fix a 13 year old stove that you can buy brand new for $500? And $500 is the cheapest I could find, most of the others are way higher and almost all the others have the smooth top and I would rather have the coils and pretty soon I won't be able to buy the ones with coils (I heard the smooth ones scratch easily and you have to be extremely careful).

Opinions please!

Fix the old one. IMO new ones are not what they use to be.
 
I would fix the old one. I agree with Meagain. Additionally the new stores are designed to last about as long as the warranty and the repair bill on the new stuff is going to be higher since it will probably require a brand service person. I'm not a fan of the self cleaning ovens due to high temps involved and the impact it has on the stove and surrounding cabinetry. they get very hot and the ones I have been around take quite a while to work as well as smell terrible.

Additionally, if you have a senior center in your area. Check with them about help in repairing the stove. I volunteer to one one in our area and we will go out and change the coils for folks at no charge. Sometimes the owner buys the coils other times they are sponsored or paid for by other folks/companies in the area. Just a thought.
 
I would fix the old one. I agree with Meagain. Additionally the new stores are designed to last about as long as the warranty and the repair bill on the new stuff is going to be higher since it will probably require a brand service person. I'm not a fan of the self cleaning ovens due to high temps involved and the impact it has on the stove and surrounding cabinetry. they get very hot and the ones I have been around take quite a while to work as well as smell terrible.

Additionally, if you have a senior center in your area. Check with them about help in repairing the stove. I volunteer to one one in our area and we will go out and change the coils for folks at no charge. Sometimes the owner buys the coils other times they are sponsored or paid for by other folks/companies in the area. Just a thought.

I have no problem with buying the coils or changing them, but I would never mess around with replacing the receptacles. From what I've learned and been told they NEED to be replaced because when they get old the plastic in them melts a bit and the connection is not secure and will cause a fire. I already had a fire in the receptacle of the big burner in the front, so I know that one is shot. Just on a gamble I've ordered an 8 inch burner, waiting for delivery, and will try it on the other 8 inch slot, which now works sometimes and not others. I'll update here after I try it out for a while. I bought it at the Repair Clinic website that Don M recommended. It is just weird that the two 6 inchers have always worked fine and the two 8 inch burners have given me problems. And I like the stove and I can clean it manually, which is no big deal because it's only me cooking and I try to be careful and don't cook stuff that spills a lot.
 
PVC,

I took a look back in the thread and saw that you have a whirlpool range/stove. I took some liberties and looked at what I could find on line for that range (general search, because uncertain of the model number) but the parts are quite cheap for the stove I looked at their is a video there as well.

I tried to post a link to it, for your reference:

https://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Coil-Surface-Element/4392061/587634

Hope it helps.

Yeah, I had seen that and was going to order that set in your link, but my handyman wants $75 to install plus the $75 for the set it will come to minimum $150. So, the stove is 13 years old and that is supposed to be the average lifetime for electric stoves (12-17 years). It's not a LOT of money, but how much longer will the stove last after spending the money? Knowing my luck it will die a few months after spending the $150+. I'll see how the burner I ordered works and then make a decision. I can make do with two small burners and one big one just fine. Thanks!
 
As I PM'd you: Your problem is, almost certainly, your receptacles, not your burners, since you told me you can wiggle the burners, and even get one to heat up, when doing so. You also mentioned a previous fire. If you put a good burner into a bad receptacle, you are definitely courting disaster. I really hope my posting here will dissuade you from putting a good burner into a bad receptacle. Be safe.
 


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